President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb a suspected underground nuclear site in Iran known as Pickaxe Mountain. The facility is believed to be buried deep inside a mountain and its exact purpose is shrouded in mystery and speculation. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

What is Iran's Pickaxe Mountain and why does Trump say he wants to bomb it?

BBC Verify has spoken to experts and analysed satellite imagery to piece together what we know about the site, and the potential impact of a US strike.

bbc.co.uk

Google Earth has launched a new AI tool which allows users to create fake satellite images. A collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid of Giza and Russian tanks in Kyiv were among the fake images BBC Verify created when testing the feature. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New Google Earth AI tool could fuel misinformation, experts say

Experts tell BBC Verify Google's new feature which lets people generate fake satellite images could be misused.

bbc.co.uk

There's no way that this new AI image generation feature in Google Earth, one of the most reliable sources of visual evidence for journalists and researchers, could possibly be abused to spread misinformation online and damage trust in satellite images. Absolutely no cause for concern here at all.

Eliot Higgins@eliothiggins.bsky.social · 5d ago

Google Earth, a tool often used as a source of satellite imagery to verify photos and videos, has added a feature that allows you to alter satellite imagery with AI, for reasons. blog.google/products-and...

Google Earth, a tool often used as a source of satellite imagery to verify photos and videos, has added a feature that allows you to alter satellite imagery with AI, for reasons. blog.google/products-and...

These two widely shared images claiming to show the IDF restoring a statue of Jesus that was previously damaged by an Israeli soldier near Debl, Lebanon, are AI-generated and fake. A Google SynthID check finds watermarks that suggest both images were made with Google AI.

The Metropolitan police have arrested 7 people in connection with arson attacks against Jewish targets. Seems like some of them were planning a new attack. Also 8th arrest, someone in connection with Israel embassy drone attack.

Eight arrests made by Counter Terrorism Policing London

Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson.

news.met.police.uk

This image, which claims to show one of the airmen rescued by US special forces from Iran, has racked up millions of views after being shared by some major influencers, and even by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The image is AI-generated and features multiple errors.

Multiple weapons experts have disputed a US claim that Iran may have been responsible for a deadly strike on the town of Lamerd on the first day of the Iran war, which killed 21 people. Weapons experts say a US PrSM missile was likely used in the strike. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Experts dispute US account of deadly Lamerd sports hall strike in Iran

Six weapons experts have contested the US claim that video evidence suggests an Iranian missile could have hit the hall.

bbc.co.uk

Shayan Sardarizadeh @shayan86.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Read our investigation into the deadly strike in the Iranian town of Lamerd, which experts say was likely carried out using new US PrSM missiles. The attack killed 21 people, including four children. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On the first day of the Iran war, at least two strikes hit a residential block and a sports hall in the town of Lamerd, killing 21 people, including four children. Our investigation reveals the attack was likely a US strike, carried out with new generation Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).

I hope that if there's one thing that this Iran conflict and the explosion of online misinformation about it has laid bare for most people is the significance of content verification and fact-checking in the digital age. AI cannot replace human verification, at least not just yet.

You can’t actually destroy highly enriched uranium (HEU). Bombing it doesn’t d anything to it.

Footage published by Iranian media today shows damage to Chehel Sotoon, a 17th century, Safavid-era landmark palace and garden located in the historic centre of Isfahan, after air strikes in its vicinity. The Persian garden that surrounds the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A newly published video shows that a US Tomahawk missile hit a medical clinic inside an IRGC base and near a primary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab where the authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

US missile hit military base near Iran school, video analysis shows

A US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a primary school in southern Iran where Iranian authorities said 168 people were killed, expert video analysis shows.

bbc.co.uk

New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an IRGC facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footage also shows smoke already rising from the vicinity of the girls’ school, where 175 people were reportedly killed, including children.

BBC Verify has analysed verified videos and satellite imagery that show severe damage to a hospital, sporting centres, a UNESCO world heritage site and two schools since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Saturday, as the number of civilian casualties grows. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Iranian schools, hospital and landmarks among civilian sites hit during US-Israeli strikes

A local in Tehran tell BBC Verify that the city has been turned into a

bbc.co.uk

BBC Verify has pieced together verified videos, satellite imagery and expert views after a deadly attack near a primary school in Minab, souther Iran, which suggest the area was hit more than once "by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Iran school and nearby military base struck multiple times, satellite image reveals

Iranian authorities say the attack, which took place on Saturday, killed 168 people.

bbc.co.uk

The Iran/US/Israel war might have already broken the record for the highest number of AI-generated videos and images that have gone viral during a conflict. Interestingly, I said the exact same thing right after the 12-day war in June. Welcome to our brave new world of AI misinformation.

THREAD: Misinformation in the Iran/US/Israel war - 3 March This viral video claims to show the aftermath of a reported drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, tonight. But the video was posted last week to TikTok, and shows an unrelated car accident in Riyadh.

Here's the moment a tearful host on Iranian state TV confirms that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli air strikes. The Iranian government has announced 40 days of mourning and a week-long holiday to mark Khamenei's death.

Shayan Sardarizadeh @shayan86.bsky.social · 5mo ago

BREAKING: Iranian state TV has confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US air strikes today. A tearful host on state TV's channel one announced the news live on air.

BREAKING: Iranian state TV has confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US air strikes today. A tearful host on state TV's channel one announced the news live on air.

THREAD: Verified videos of the Iran/US/Israel war - 28 February Smoke rises in the air near Tehran's City Theatre metro station following air strikes by the US and Israel. Location: 35.7011766,51.4054869

A Bellingcat investigation reveals child soldiers in Sudan’s civil war have become viral figures on TikTok. Videos attracting millions of views show the children with senior military officials, celebrating battlefield victories and delivering violent threats. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...

Viral Child Soldiers on TikTok: The ‘Disney Stars’ of Sudan’s Civil War - bellingcat

To stay up to date on our latest investigations, join Bellingcat’s WhatsApp channel here. Child soldiers linked to Sudan’s warring factions have gained viral fame on TikTok, with their videos attracti...

bellingcat.com

Anti-government student protests spread to more Iranian universities www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... See the thread quoted below for some how-we-know and how-you-can-too examples.

Iran anti-government student protests spread to more universities

A fresh wave of anti-government protests at several Iranian universities that began on Saturday has spread to more campuses.

bbc.co.uk

Richard Irvine-Brown@richib.bsky.social · 5mo ago

A large part of what BBC Verify and Persian do is support other News output. This weekend has seen a fresh wave of protest in Iran, centred on the universities of Tehran. Working with @paulybrown.bsky.social, @emmapengelly.bsky.social and @shayan86.bsky.social. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A fresh wave of anti-government protests by students at several Iranian universities has spread to more campuses on Monday. The BBC has verified footage of protests at eight universities in Tehran, as well as universities in Mashhad and Isfahan. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Iran anti-government student protests spread to more universities

A fresh wave of anti-government protests at several Iranian universities that began on Saturday has spread to more campuses.

bbc.co.uk

A large part of what BBC Verify and Persian do is support other News output. This weekend has seen a fresh wave of protest in Iran, centred on the universities of Tehran. Working with @paulybrown.bsky.social, @emmapengelly.bsky.social and @shayan86.bsky.social. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Iran students resume anti-government protests

Student protesters honoured thousands of those killed when nationwide mass protests were put down by Iranian authorities last month.

bbc.co.uk

If you want to get rid of some incriminating documents you don't want anyone to see, the best course of action is to hide them on the top floors of the most famous twin towers in the world and hit them with two hijacked passenger planes.

This video of JD Vance is AI-generated. It's not real.

Anonymous@youranoncentral.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The fall of JD Vance

At least 34 children have been infected by a "fast-spreading" measles outbreak in several north London schools in the UK. One in five children who contracted the illness had been admitted to hospital, all of whom "had not been fully immunised". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

North London measles outbreak hits several schools with at least 34 children infected

A number of children have been hospitalised as officials urge families to check they are up to date with their vaccines.

bbc.co.uk

Previously unseen photos showing Jeffrey Epstein’s body lying on a stretcher and being attended to by medics and a close-up of his neck showing visible signs of injuriy in the immediate aftermath of his death have appeared in the newly released Epstein files.

Previously unseen photos showing Jeffrey Epstein's body lying on a stretcher and being attended to by medics in the immediate aftermath of his death have been released as part of a declassified FBI report in the latest batch of the Epstein files. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Details of Jeffrey Epstein post-mortem released in latest files

Twenty new photos released on Friday show Epstein in the immediate aftermath of his death.

bbc.co.uk